


Somewhere only we know

by boohoo_cracker



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF, mcyt
Genre: Gen, Karlnapity, M/M, Minecraft but real life, dreamnotfound, fluff sad, inspired by a song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:53:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29464578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boohoo_cracker/pseuds/boohoo_cracker
Summary: Inspired by the song 'somewhere only we know' by Keane.After L'Manberg is lost, Dream is being hunted down and George is determined to catch him. But a lost love and a special place for only them stands in the way between George and freedom.will someone pls coach me on how to summarisei'm so crap at it
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Karl Jacobs/Sapnap/Quackity, dreamnotfound - Relationship
Kudos: 13





	Somewhere only we know

**Author's Note:**

> ahahaha this took me like... 2 days to write? I PROCRASTINATED A LOT OKAY  
> 'somewhere only we know' is a great song maybe listen? (If you haven't already) 
> 
> At first, I was tryin to stick close to the song but then it went off the rails.  
> Anyway. Enjoy! :D  
> (also this au is when they're both around the same age, George like a year older?)  
> something be wrong with my italics they're rlly dodge today haha

There’s a crack of a branch as George clambers through the woods, sword in hand. He double checks his pocket. It’s still there. Good.  
Not many know about this place. George gently traces the small D+G carved into the bark, breathing in the scent of wood and grass and mud.  
Home. He’s home.  
It’s just how he remembers.  
\--  
"𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮! 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰?"  
"𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦." 𝘈 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘨𝘢𝘱-𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦.  
"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨?"  
"𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺." 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳.  
"𝘓𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦." 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺. "𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵." 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘦, 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴.  
"𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘭."  
\--  
There's a man squatting by the river. George hesitates, wondering whether he should approach him.  
"George." The man says, turning to him and giving him a twisted smile. "I thought you'd come here." George's heart was beating out of his chest.  
"Well, here I am."  
"You've been sent to look for me, I bet." He says grimly. George moves towards him.  
"Yeah. I have."  
"You're not gonna... turn me in?" He sounds as though he already knows the answer.  
"No. God no." He lets out a laugh that sounds more like a sob. "I can't do that." Dream gives him an amused look.  
"Come sit." Not an invitation. George shrugs, and joins him next to the water. Dream sighs.  
"Ah... Just like old times. Much simpler, wasn't it?"  
"Simple times. No.. blowing up nations." Dream winces.  
"Cheap shot. But fair point. You're pissed at me, I assume?" George shot him a look.  
"Well. L'Manberg got blown up. My house. Valuables. Actually, fuck that, Sapnap was there. All of our friends-"  
"Your friends. Not ours."  
"They feel so betrayed, Dream." Dream sighs, gazing at the river.  
"I know. But it was necessary. For power."  
George feels his stomach turn over. He'd heard people's stories about Dream's need for power, but he'd never heard it in person.  
He didn't really think their stories were true.  
He used to be so happy.  
This wasn't the Dream he knew.  
\--  
"𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬!" 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳.  
"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰?"  
"𝘊𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧." 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺, 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮.  
"𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦." 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳.  
"𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦.. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥-𝘢𝘪𝘥."  
"𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳." 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬.  
"𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱."  
"𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺?"  
"𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨." 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢.  
"𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?" 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘕𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘋+𝘎 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘬. 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘴.  
"𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘦."  
"𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?"  
"𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩." 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘦𝘭𝘣𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳.  
\--  
"Why do I feel like you're more angry about the whole.. marriage than me blowing up a nation?" Dream asks, his smile fading slightly. George huffs.  
"Because. Because I know you, Dream. You don't do anything unless there's a good reason to." Dream tilts his head. "You blew up L'Manberg because of the discs, to get power over a country, to show who was boss. So why, why did you marry Fundy?" Dream, for the first time, seems uncomfortable.  
"You stopped it."  
"And I lost half of my friends! Dream, you didn't love him."  
"I know."  
"Did you have a reason then?" Dream lowers his gaze, and doesn't answer. George makes a choked kind of laugh. "Or did you just do it to torture me?"  
"I wouldn't do that."  
"I don't know what you would or wouldn't do, Dream. Not anymore."  
"George.." He leans forward. " I thought you, of all people would understand." George lets out yet another choked laugh.  
"I do! I understand fully - too much, even. You have a plan, Dream, and it involves everything we love. You won't stop until you have power. And you'll use anything - anyone until you get it."  
"I would stop." Dream finally looks George in his eyes. "I would stop for you."  
\--  
"𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦!" 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦.  
"𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘵." 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘮. 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥.  
"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨!"  
"𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘈𝘭𝘭'𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘳."  
"𝘏𝘢! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘵! Love 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘳!" 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘴, 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.  
"𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯."  
"𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘵! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦." 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 '𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦' 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘴.  
"𝘊𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯."  
"𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘧𝘶𝘭."  
"𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨."  
"𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦. 𝘌𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦!"

\--  
George lets out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.  
"You would?"  
\--  
"𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦." 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.  
"𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯: 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯." 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳; 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘶𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥. "𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬."  
"𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘢𝘱 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦! 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬." 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮.  
"𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴."  
"𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵! 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯."  
"𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱." 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮.  
𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦.  
"𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵?"  
"𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵."  
"𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦." 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴.  
"𝘕𝘰!"  
"𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦." 𝘏𝘪𝘴 '𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯' 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦.  
"𝘕𝘰, 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮." 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨.  
"𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶…" 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥. 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯.  
"𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘦! 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮! 𝘊𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦?" 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦." 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮'𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦.  
"𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘐-" 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 - 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 - 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.  
"𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦."  
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯.  
\--  
“Of course I would. I would stop for you. It’s always been you.” George shuts his eyes.  
“Dream.”  
“We could go. We could run off together. Get away from it all.”  
“Dream..”  
“George. We could.” George looks up into his earnest face and wonders if he could ever say no.  
—  
“..𝘯𝘰. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵.”   
“𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦!”  
“𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘳.”  
“𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦.” 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴.   
𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶. He sighs.   
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺?”  
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘓’𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦..”

—  
“No. I can’t.” George says weakly, before repeating it firmly. “No, I can’t. I have Sap, a new home, a new family. I can’t, Dream.” Dream hums.  
“George.. I need you.”  
“So do other people. I can’t go.”   
—  
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, ‘𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮’ 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘵𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.  
“𝘈𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.” 𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 (𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥) “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦?” 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱.  
“𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥..” 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴 “𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥! 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦.” 𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴.  
“𝘐 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘸. 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦?” 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘦.  
“𝘊𝘢𝘬𝘦.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳-𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦.  
“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?”  
“𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘬, 𝘥𝘶𝘥𝘦.” 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳.  
“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺.” 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 (𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺).  
“𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵! 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘫𝘰𝘣!” 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮.  
“𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘩, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 ..” 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦.  
“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯.” 𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭. 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯.  
“𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴-“ 𝘈 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮’𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤.  
“𝘛𝘕𝘛!”  
𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦.  
𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘔.

𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦. 𝘖𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦. 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘬𝘺.  
“𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦? 𝘚𝘢𝘱?”  
“𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦.”  
“𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮.” 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦’𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮.  
“𝘏𝘦𝘺.”  
“𝘌𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦.”  
“𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘵.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.  
“𝘏𝘦𝘺, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵-?”  
“𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮.”  
“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦-“  
“𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰-“  
“𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰.” 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.  
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?”  
“𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘐’𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐’𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰-“  
𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘺, 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘺. 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸, 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦. 𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘱, 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.  
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴.. 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺.” 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱.  
“𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥’𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱.. 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥’𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴.” 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦’𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘴.  
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴.”  
“𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴.”  
“𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘱 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵.”  
“𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵.” 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴.  
“𝘎𝘶𝘺𝘴. 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.” 𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴. “𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭?”  
—  
George rubs his face. “I wish I could Dream. I do, I really do.”  
“Then why don’t you?”  
“I just- can’t.”  
—  
“𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?”  
“𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦.”  
“𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦..  
—  
“I love you.” George shakes his head, tears swimming in his eyes.  
“Don’t say that.”  
—  
“𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘵-“  
—  
“Why?”   
—  
“-𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦-“  
—  
“Because it makes what I’m about to do so much harder.”  
—  
"𝘐𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵."  
—  
Dream frowns, and George takes out the button. Last moment to back out.   
He had to do this.   
He presses the button, and for a moment, nothing happens.   
But then they step out, through the trees, out of the bushes and shadows. They have them surrounded. All of them in full netherite, armed with axes, swords, crossbows. George struggles to his feet, raising his sword to Dream’s chin. Only later does he realise that his arms were shaking so badly that he nicks Dream’s neck a couple of times.  
“Dream.. you’re under arrest.” He spits, letting his tears fall. Dream looks up at him, and for once, he looks totally powerless, lost, confused.  
Frightened.  
“You promised.” He whispers, his chin wobbling.”You promised you’d never tell me, George.   
Sam reaches forward, and gently taps George’s elbow.  
“We got it from here.” George nods, unable to look at him, and walks towards Sapnap and Quackity.  
Finally, Dream’s reign of terror is over.  
He can go home.  
—  
They were all celebrating. Tommy and Tubbo were still shouting with each other, ‘singing’ along to their precious disks. Quackity and Karl were... Well, either flirting or dancing, George wasn’t sure. Even Ranboo was there.  
But he just sat in a corner.  
“Hey.” He smiles.  
“Sapnap. Hi.”  
“You uh-“ he shuffles awkwardly. “You did the right thing.” George laughs humorlessly.  
“Really? It feels like I’ve made the worst mistake of my life.”  
“George..” Sapnap slides down to the floor, sitting next to him.  
“He wanted me to run away with him. Start a new life.” Sapnap’s face is aghast. “I almost did, too.”  
“He’s manipulated you.”  
“I know.” George sighs, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the wall. “He had a glint in his eye. Like he knew what was gonna happen, like he knew how he was going to win. I couldn’t let that happen.” Sapnap puts his arm around George, and they lean together.  
“You did good.”  
“Thanks.”  
“Look I ah.. I feel like I haven’t been there.” Sapnap sniffs. “Ever since I got engaged to those two nimrods-“ he motions to Quackity and Karl, who were now spinning slowly on the spot, nose to nose, “-I haven’t made much time for you. And I’m sorry for that.”  
“Don’t worry.” He says softly. “You were in love.”  
“And you were heartbroken.”  
“Not your problem, Sapnap. And not your fault.” Sapnap hugs him closer.  
“I’m proud of you.”  
“I’m proud of you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I imagine that the first flashback is when they're like 8, second 12, third is also 12, maybe a couple months later, the next 15 and then the war is when they be 19/20.  
> If you didn't get it bcs my writing is hard to understand (entirely possible i was very much sleep deprived), the last couple flashblack was someone giving him a button, which signals that Dream was there.  
> oki hope you enjoyed, i promise i will stop procrastinating and finish my dnf book.  
> If you haven't checked it out, its on my dash ;)


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